our native badger becomes as single representative of the real badgers with the type of the pig-badgers, that summarized badger (Melinae) Stinkdachse, the silver-badgers and the sun-badgers to the subfamily, while the honey-badgers form an independent subfamily.
Shape All badgers are quite uniformly in the outer appearance, with its massive one, on short, stocky legs of resting bodies, with short tail and big, powerfully bekrallten feet. On strong, loosely at the body of sedentary skin a grain-y fur with little sub-wool grows. All badgers own is the fact that they are so-called "wrongly colored mammals" that is, that its back shows a lighter coloring than the stomach. Also the skull shows a peculiarity, which is to be admittedly observed more frequently in the family of the martens, but in the remaining mammal-groups not to the shaping comes: The lower jaw of the badger is one-steered so solid in the upper jaw that one cannot remove it at the prepared skull without destroying the sockets. This quality of the jaw has a practical meaning with the other Musteliden since these animals usually overpower considerably bigger loot-animals and need such a very stable connection between waiter and lower jaws. With the badger, however, this characteristic became insignificant since it prefers mainly soft food.
Nutrition The badger is omnivore to mark as ausgeprochener, that takes in fungi, insects and their larvae, worms, snails, frogs and lizards beside all sorts of vegetarian food (root, tubers, berries, sweetens, overripe fruits). However, it doesn't spurn also ground-brooding birds and their eggs as well as mice and young rabbits.
Way of life The badger is not such an unconditional loner like the other marten-types by far. Often, one finds several badger-families in a construction living together. Since our badgers are very location-loyal and its holes often are further-used for generation from generation, these caves often form, constructions with many residential-chambers and a labyrinth of walks as well as several exits, of which only few are however always used for the same time, branched.
The deepest walks and residential-kettles are up to 5 m below days. The badger always positions the individual entrances hidden under a hedge or also between nettles, however, it prefers with dense sub-growth of passed forests as habitat anyway. Here, it finds also the necessary soft plant-material, with which it pads its residential-kettles carefully. Not rarely, it tows this end-upholstery at the Erdoberfläche for a short time, about it after some time, to bring in again into the construction, aired. This "cleanliness" of the animals continues in it that badgers use excrement-storage space-places outside the constructions, that zugraben it from time to time. Since "Grimbart" is very shy, it spends most of the time of the day in the protected construction in order to come outside under biggest caution only at night. Nevertheless it loves sun-baths, to which it sacrifices himself passionately, if it finds an absolutely undisturbed place.
In the whole one, badgers are very peaceful. There are not any fights if they meet at its solid changes or face at its precinct-borders. The changes as well as the precinct-borders mark the badgers with help of its anal-gland, that it can also apply directional against an opponent as "Stänker", however.
Reproduction The males often are "lovingly" in the Ranzzeit, that lasts from January to October, and for many environment-attractions only conditionally receptive. The combination comes after marten-type, d. h. with necks - or also ear-bite (polecat, wolverine) and can last until a point.
After switching on of a (for martens typical) germ-silence and one through it caused Tragzeit of 9-12 months (actual Tragzeit 60-70 days) extended the females bear until April 1-5 blind ones and know-fleecy hairy young, whose development runs out very slowly, in February. After three-and a half to five weeks, they open the eyes. Four months-long is suckled for it, however, breits get also already solid Beikost after approximately two months. During the time of the Jungenaufzucht, the badgers use subterranean excrement-places, that visit also the boys after the first weeks. Until October, the family stays together, then, the boys are expelled by the mother. The parents should live together in lifelong monogamy. However, the females with approximately 12, the males with 15 months, becomes be badgers sexually mature fully adult only with approximately two years.
Hibernation In contrast to former opinions, badgers don't do any real hibernation, how approximately hamsters and marmots but only one winter-silence like the bears, without a reduction of the body-temperature and irritability.
Lautgebung Broadly, badgers are little voice-joyful. Until on occasional keckernde and barking fury, and fear-lutes only are Ranz, and, to hear Todesschreie, that should be so similar for a forced child's howl, that some hunters, who heard these screams, no badgers more want to kill.
Endangering The badger is on the red list of the endangered types with us today.
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